Masquerade
by mceso
Summary: Sometimes all we have are masks!
1. Chapter 1

Clarisse sat staring out at the rainy weather and wondered if it would ever cease. The chill in the air, blowing trees and grey skies reminded her of unpleasant memories. Even tea couldn't quite shake off the depressive atmosphere. It was a day such this one that she lost her precious son. In front of her lay mounds of paperwork that needed her attention but Clarisse was indeed having difficulty concentrating. Her mind was restless, body uncooperative and uncomfortable for sitting so long in one position. The hand that normally scrawled her signature seamed heavy and weighted down.

Too agitated to sit any longer, Clarisse rose and went to stand at the window. Starring out at the palace gardens, she wondered what was in store for her next. Mia needed to be able to grow, make her own mistakes and win over the hearts of Genovians everywhere. She would soon get the hang of being queen and Clarisse's services would no longer be needed.

With a last look at the rain pouring outside the window, Clarisse turned intending to resume her efforts from before. However, she was not alone. There stood Joseph, her bodyguard and best friend. It caught Clarisse a bit of guard. She hadn't even realized that he had entered and truth be told it bothered her just a bit to have been caught in a "human" moment. A queen never loses it!

Joseph had entered the queen's work area intending to tell her that plans for the upcoming masquerade were coming along well and would soon be finished. What he didn't anticipate was to catch Clarisse starring out the window completely lost in thought. She was even more beautiful right at that moment and it took his breath away. He immediately halted his advances and instead found himself studying the expression on her face and the way her hand touched the glass, fingers faintly curled.

Slightly startled Clarisse managed to recover quickly. "Umm…. Joseph is there something that you needed to see me about?" Sifting his own personal thoughts aside, Joseph responded "plans for the masquerade are nearly finished. The decorators are coming tomorrow at 10 to start getting the palace ready for this event. It will surely be one to remember"!

With that Joseph left his majesty alone to continue with her work but worried about the sorrowful expression he had witnessed at the window and what it meant. Time would surely tell and he would be right beside her when it did.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the kind reviews….keep 'em coming! Enjoy the next chapter.

The queen awoke but not feeling refreshed. It was a night filled with tossing, turning and nightmares. The last bit of business that Clarisse had opened contained a baby picture. The envelope was simply plain white, the kind you can find anywhere. It only had her name printed neatly across the front and no return address. Inside contained one photo of a smiling baby boy. With a jolt, Clarisse was positive this was the photo that Philippe carried in his wallet. It had not been recovered in the accident that claimed his life, but it was such a long time ago……..

It simply couldn't be the same picture her rational mind argued but left a burning sensation in the pit of her stomach. She nearly doubled over with the pain. Tracing the photo's face with her finger, she oh but wished for it to truly be her dead son. Confused and upset, Clarisse placed it back into the mysterious envelop and tucked it carefully into the top drawer of her desk. With sadness she headed for bed, willing her mind to shut down for the evening.

After checking her image in the mirror, Clarisse saw that her face was pale, eyes shadowed and overall she looked unhealthy. She decided to add more than her customary amount of cosmetics to try to hide evidence of a sleepless night. Satisfied that she had managed to cover up most of the exhaustion, Clarisse proceeded out of her room and into complete chaos!

There were decorations simply everywhere being hung, attached or pinned up. In between all of this stood Charlotte. Thank god for Charlotte! Walking down the staircase Clarisse took note of the vibrant colors, fun figures and playful statues. "Charlotte, you have really outdone yourself. This palace looks utterly amazing! You have managed to transform it into a festive wonderland". Maybe this masquerade is just what she needed to raise her spirits after all.


End file.
